PCG wants 3 ships removed from Manila Bay seawall

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) wants three vessels, which ran aground at Manila Bay’s seawall in Manila at the height of Typhoon Lando, removed immediately, an official said yesterday.

PCG spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said “the bottom line of PCG commandant Admiral Rodolfo Isorena was for these vessels to be removed as soon as possible since they are not supposed to be there in the first place.”

The Malaysian-flag tugboat Many Plus-1, which was towing the barge AZ Shanghai, was dragged from its anchorage while the barge ran aground less than 100 meters from the Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard.

The tugboat, owned by Malaysian firm Highline Shipping SDN, has 10 foreign crewmen on board. It arrived in Manila with the barge loaded with 7,500 tons of coal from Indonesia on Oct. 16.

The roll-on roll-off passenger vessel M/V Mary The Queen was dragged all the way from Bataan, where it had been undergoing repair for the last two years.

The captains of the vessels said they would try to move from their position without the aid of a salvor.

Balilo said a team of divers from the salvor firm Malayan Towage checked the hulls of the three vessels and did not find any damage that might cause an oil spill.